"The DeSantis administration announced plans this week to build hotel rooms, golf courses, and pickleball courts in nine of Florida’s most prized parks."

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration wants to build hotels, golf courses, pickleball courts and other “amenities” at state parks prized for their pristine habitats — a plan that has sparked outrage and concern across the aisle.

The “Great Outdoors Initiative” announced Monday calls for building three golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, a stretch of undeveloped land north of Palm Beach popular for its trails and birding.

New lodges with space for hundreds of guests would be constructed at Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine and Topsail Hill Preserve in the Panhandle. The latter has sand dunes that the state park service describes as “especially remarkable because they are untouched by development.”

“The park’s beaches are among the best in the world,” the state park website says. “Clean white sand and clear blue water as far as the eye can see.”"

Lori Rozsa reports for the Washington Post August 22, 2024. [2]